


Power over Poison

by DxTURA



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Story based off FC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-09-23 19:40:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17086490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DxTURA/pseuds/DxTURA
Summary: Prompt: Datura is researching ways to extract poison from the dangerous Morbols to use in order to better her skills as a Scholar. Running into a horde, however, has given her troubles.Originally posted in 2014.





	Power over Poison

**Author's Note:**

> Please note: this writing is not my best work, nor is it very.. lore-tastic? Maybe it is, so to speak, but I didn't really look THAT DEEPLY into Morbols and the like because - at the time - I just wanted to write about Datura. This was way before I became the lore nut in my friend group.
> 
> Still, please enjoy! I worked really hard on this, and it's honestly an inspiration to look back at my old writing nowadays!

The Fogfens: an area located in the depths of Mor Dhona, but not too far off from the Imperial prisons of Castum Centri. The area was often heavily guarded with Imperial soldiers, but very few dare to go into the swampy territory known as “The Tangle.” Multiple Imperials were sent into the area to investigate the massive overgrowth of vines that would taint the land, but only a few would make it back out alive. It wasn’t that the area was deep enough to drown in or that the air was flooded with toxins, but the enemies that sleep and patrol the area. Vine-plagued creatures known as Morbols as well as the infamous Mudpuppies made their home in that area, more often than not killing and eating the bodies of those who could not defend themselves so easily. Mudpuppies were easier to take down because of their clumsy movements, but Morbols?

Morbols were dangerous creatures that were never to be reckoned with.

Combined with their pointy face was a mouth that contained more than fifty sharp, carnivorous teeth. While they were slow moving because they had to maneuver through water and land to get to their opponents, that alone did not stop the mortality rate from being so high. Morbols had strong bodies that were hard to penetrate, and would often seal their victim’s fate by using a deadly pollutant that brought their prey to a weakened state. Anyone who had the duty of eliminating Morbols had to bring a party of two or three alongside them; no one should ever be attacked by more than one of those deadly, disgusting creatures.

Yet even though very few brave souls travel into Morbol territory that didn’t stop scientist attempts to conduct research. Even Imperials were capable of tricking incoming adventurers into doing their dirty work, but a lot of those brought nothing but corpses into the area. It wasn’t like they cared, however; at some point in time an adventurer would bring a breakthrough – regardless of if they were sided with the Imperials or not.

And that is where Datura Venenum came in.

The powerful Scholar had traveled far to find ways to enhance her skills in battle. An Arcanist’s purpose was to either learn how to heal, or learn how to fight; utilizing poison in these battles was their forte, but their partners and accomplices would change depending on who they decided to talk to. Datura wished to study the fairies, and in her free time took Eos and Selene into Mor Dhona for research and training.

Standing at 4’2’’, the Dunesfolk Lalafell felt her violet locks blow as rain splattered against the ground. While she was exceptional in honing her powers to heal, Datura had a harder time producing poison than any other Arcanist. Be it _Bio_ , _Miasma_ , or _Virus_ she was typically incapable of weakening or incapacitating the enemy she and a party were up against. It was often the reason as to why she traveled alone; she wished to never flop and harm anyone.

For today’s studies, Datura heard rumors from a Summoner that Morbol Poison was the most lethal and most powerful type of poison to ever come across. Scriptures say that Morbol poison was often used to substitute missing Mana in order to save Arcanists from tough situations. They also made their attacks kill animals as swift as a ninja taking a knife to a neck! There were two problems with the writing, however; not only was the text nearly thousands of years old, it wasn’t officially proven. By the time people were capable of proving it, they had died on the battlefield and were never capable of escaping The Tangle. Datura was foolish for going alone, but she hoped that she would be the one Scholar that could come home unscathed and with new findings.

Bringing Selene into the battlefield, Datura pulled out her map and immediately darted her violet eyes back and forth.

“I would have ne’er thought Scholars had to travel this far for research,” She muttered under her breath, her Lominsan accent evident in her voice, “If I had known that it was going to require work in situations like these, I would’ve become a Leatherworker.”

She noticed her fairy friend flutter in offense, before shaking her head profusely.

“I-I was kiddin’! It’s not like I regret meeting you two, Selene!” Datura winced, “I just wish that I didn’ have to deal with these Twelve-forsaken heathens. I can only pray to Rhalgar that he will give me the strength to fend for myself.”

It was almost as if the gold fairy was scolding her for not finding someone from town to follow her into the area. Even so, Datura simply rolled her eyes and pushed black frames against the bridge of her nose.

“I ain’t goin’ back now. By the time I go back into town, it’ll be twilight! Do you know how fast time revolves in Eorzea? Too damn fast! I’ll simply set up a camp if I have to!”

Pushing some trees to the side, the Lalafell felt her feet sink into murky waters that only had color reflect off the light that shone through the branches and leaves. She was already disgusted by her boots sloshing and slowly filling up with dirty water, but she couldn’t really back out at this rate. Her pride refused to let her do so.

Without warning, a large gush of water came into her direction. Out from the muddy waters came a Mudpuppy ready to antagonize her.

“Ah! Our first opponent, but not the one I’m lookin’ for!” She grinned, opening her book in a flash and letting her pudgy fingers glide against the pages to cast a spell. “Let’s wreck this ‘puppy’s shit, yeah?”

Casting _Ruin_ onto the Mudpuppy’s body already made it scream in fear, but that didn’t stop Venenum from taking initiative.

“I show no mercy to creatures who wish to attack me first!” She slid her fingers against the papyrus after flipping a few pages forward, “I’ll just get some aether flowing, and…”

She held her hand out, showing no remorse when the Mudpuppy’s cries were heard.

“ _Energy Drain_!”

She watched as the volatile creature’s eyes closed, and its body fell into the water before dissipating for good. She sighed and shook her head, tucking her book beneath her arm before looking back at Selene.

“Didn’t e’en stand a chance.”

The two of them continued deeper into the area, Datura feeling the water come up to her waist, nearly swimming in it at the speed she was moving. She was well aware that the path she was taking was safe, however; at some point in time, she reached a fork in the area that caused the water to land back at her feet.

Selene, being very capable of flying, clearly wasn’t affected by all of this.

“So Morbol nests are said to be found here… I don’t see why people are so scared of running into ‘em from the get-go. I see nothing!”

Though Venenum spoke too soon, because the moment she said this she could feel the ripples of water against her skin as she heard something moving from behind her.

“Ah-“

Low, angry growls came from the mutated plant as she turned around to see how tall she was compared to it. It would take three Lalafells to match its size, and even then they were still short of being its exact height; a bright, red tongue stuck out of its mouth before its yell echoed into Mother Nature’s ears.

“Eugh, disgusting! I’ve seen paintings; hell, I’ve e’en heard that they’re ugly bastards! However, I have _never_ seen one so up close and personal like now!” She pulled out her book again, getting in a stance that showed that the Dunesfolk child was ready to fight.

“Selene, support me!”

The fairy giggled in response, moving in a high enough altitude that it was capable of dodging any of the Morbol’s attacks, but still close enough to heal Datura when needed.

The child started off by casting _Ruin_ , dashing onto a rock before casting it and jumping behind it. The Morbol didn’t let her go without some sort of stop, however; using its leafy limbs, the enemy made her trip and fall face first into the murky river. It wasn’t long before Datura’s anger was evident by her fists and her face. 

“Very funny, but I hope you’re ready for a taste of your own medicine!”

Biting her lip, Venenum grew overconfident and chanted an incantation that casted _Miasma_. She could see the cloud of smoke appear before her, but the moment she tried to unleash it onto the plant it failed to even cast in the first place.

“Or maybe, a taste of _my_ own medicine.”

She could feel the wind be knocked out of her by the smack of a vine, her Grimoire flying out of her hands as she felt her body touch the water and slam against the rocks. She held her head, groaning in pain before coming back to her senses. Selene immediately tended to her scratches and wounds, giving her time to stand back up onto her feet and recuperate.

“Not bad. Not bad at all…” She murmured, jumping out of the way to dodge another slam in the stomach. “Where’s my book…”

She succeeded in evading a second time before falling back after a shot at a third. Groans in agony came out of her mouth after slamming into the water, Selene squeaking in fear before flying towards her.

“Selene, back up!” She held a hand out, “Somethin’s not right, don’t move!”

Datura averted her gaze left, right, and then left again – feeling rumbles beneath her feet as she saw the Morbol refuse to strike while it had the advantage. It wasn’t long before she found out the reason why.

Three—no, **four** large Morbols arrived at the scene of the battle, two of them immediately wrapping their slimy arms around Datura’s waist. They picked her up in the area, growling happily when they felt her squirm to try and slip out. The more she tried, the more she could feel the grip tightening and practically crushing her tiny body. She tried to call out for Selene, but immediately shut her mouth when she saw that her partner was caught by a lone leg.

“Selene! You need to disappear, immediately!” Datura cried out, “If you don’t, you’re going t—”

Deep gurgling could be heard from the throat of the Morbols who caught her in her grasp.

“Oh _no_.”

When a Morbol was to excrete toxins to its prey, it initiates a move that the Hyur often called “Bad Breath.” With Bad Breath Morbols regurgitated toxins from the pits of their stomach and turned it into the poisonous gas, releasing it in different levels of intensity depending on how quick they wanted their prey to die. In Datura’s case, it sounded like the toxins were going to be strong enough to – at the very least – make her sick. Not only that, but the fact that there were _two_ of them against her made the situation worse.

“Selene, go! I’ll be fine!!” She lied through grit teeth. She honestly couldn’t see any harm coming to Selene or Eos. “You need to _go_! Disappear! Away with ye!”

The faint smell of rotten eggs with mixed with chemicals told Datura that this was the end. After one last failed attempt escape her demise, the Lalafell realized that her journey was to come to an end. Slowly, she opened her nostrils up to the new scent – closing her eyes as if it would help ease the pain of toxins burning her heart, mind, and soul.

Datura could’ve sworn that this was the end. At least, until, she felt her body simply fall back into the water once the sound of metal clanking resonated beneath the roars of dying nemeses.

Opening her eyes to assess the situation, Datura loudly gasped at a green blur move from the rocks, to the water, and back into the air within seconds of slicing the vines out of the area. One was even capable of firing Bad Breath into the air, but it didn’t get far after being decapitated on sight. It honestly surprised the Scholar, as she wasn’t sure if it was a creature or an Eorzean doing all of flips and tricks.

Seeing the toxins escape into the air Datura quickly reached for a test tube, whining in defeat when it was simply too high for her to get any sort of sample.

Or was it? She honestly couldn’t believe that whatever was zipping about had actually gotten some of the smoke cloud into the tube and closed it before it escaped back in the air again.

With a jaw dropped, she noticed Selene hide behind her – noticing a figure slightly smaller than her appear before her.

“Here you go.”

Datura merely sputtered when she realized who it was that gave her the toxins in the first place.

Leifon Altugle, her Lalafell friend from the depths of Gridania. Not only was he her friend, but he was also the leader of a Free Company she had some time ago. The two of them had always traveled together – it was no surprise to see them collaborate in battle! It was only when Datura traveled alone that others got concerned.

“So tell me again why you couldn’t wait in Mor Dhona for more than 15 minutes?” He asked her, eyebrows furrowed as he held a hand out to help her up.

“You’re our leader. You have other obligations to attend to, Leifon.” She sighed, reluctantly taking it and pulling herself back up in an instant. “How did you even find me so fast?”

“You’d be surprised how many people recognize your name and face because it’s so unique.” He shrugged, “Next time, try not to go out here without me? You _know_ Morbols and Stropers can kill you in an instant.”

“Whatever!” She sneered, gazing at the bottle in awe. “At least at this rate, I can continue my research and pray to the Twelve that I can enhance and use my powers of poison _correctly_!"

“Quickly, to the Lavender Beds we go!!”


End file.
